Best Chromebook for Students

Best overall

ASUS Chromebook Flip (C100)

If you are a student in the market for a Chromebook or if you're buying for someone who is, the ASUS Chromebook Flip is our top pick. While not the most powerful available, it still has plenty enough where it counts so it can do everything a student or graduate needs in the perfect form factor for someone on the go.

We've seen several new Chromebooks and expect more to arrive, but the value and small size mean the Chromebook Flip is still our top pick.

The bottom line: Small and portable, the Chromebook Flip is great for a busy student. The excellent app support means you'll be able to use it to get things done and be able to play games or watch a video during the downtime.

Why the ASUS Chromebook Flip is the best

The 10.1-inch ASUS Chromebook Flip convertible — the screen folds back to provide a tablet experience — has a 1280x800 touch screen, great battery life, and can run apps from the Chrome Web Store and Google Play. Whether it's Google Docs, Wikipedia or Facebook, the Chromebook Flip will serve you or the student in your life well. The best part is that you'll find one under $300.

The MediaTek processor and 2GB or 4GB of onboard RAM (we recommend the 4GB version) do a fine job of surfing the web, watching full-screen videos, or playing some of your favorite Android games from Google Play. Of course, Google Docs and Microsoft's Office apps for Chrome or Android also run very well so the schoolwork can get done, too. The small size and long battery life mean you'll be able to take it with you from class to class or to a coffee shop for lunch or quiet time.

The budget-friendly and super-portable Chromebook Flip just ticks all the boxes for anyone in school.

Best for younger students

Lenovo Flex 11

The Lenovo Flex 11 is the perfect Chromebook for a younger student. Far from the most attractive laptop you'll run across, the Flex 11 more than makes up for it by being built with rugged materials and designed to survive a 2.4-foot drop on a hard surface. Combined with its water-resistant keyboard, the Flex 11 can survive more of the rough-and-tumble treatment a youngster will dish out.

The Flex 11 has an industry standard MediaTek processor with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, so performance and usability are on par with most other models. Android app support is an additional plus, especially when paired with the many educational apps in Google Play.

Bottom line: If you are shopping for a younger student or anyone who is a little accident-prone, the Flex 11 will take a lot more abuse than most other models and has a modest price tag.

Best big screen

Acer Chromebook R13

The Chromebook R13 offers a lot for its higher-than-average price. It has a solid metal build and nice-looking screen, with a solid (but quite standard) keyboard and trackpad. It isn't particularly light, but much of that is because of its large battery. The only real concern here is performance and configuration options, as you're getting a MediaTek ARM processor and can only choose to get 16, 32 or 64GB of storage — there's no choice to get a higher-end processor or more RAM.

The addition of Android apps and a full touchscreen just add to the list of reasons why this is the right Chromebook for any student who needs something bigger.

Bottom line: If you're happy with the base configuration and don't need something that's hyper-portable, this is going to be a great choice for a student who wants something a little larger than the ASUS Chromebook Flip.

Best high end

Samsung Chromebook Pro

Samsung and Google have built the best Chromebook you can buy with the Samsung Chromebook Pro. It's incredibly well built, has one of the best displays of any laptop and has the horsepower to handle anything you throw at it. And handle it well. That makes it perfect for the student who needs the very best.

The bottom line: For anyone who wants to use a Chromebook on a regular basis, and values getting extra performance and hardware quality at an added price, Samsung has made the Chromebook for you.

One more thing: There's also a Samsung Chromebook Plus, built with a slightly slower ARM processor and available for a bit less money.

Conclusion

A Chromebook is a great — and familiar — experience for anybody in school. The ASUS Chromebook Flip seems like it was specially built for a busy student, but there are also great options with a bigger screen or the ultimate high-end experience. We think these three are your top picks for 2017.

Best overall

ASUS Chromebook Flip (C100)

If you are a student in the market for a Chromebook or if you're buying for someone who is, the ASUS Chromebook Flip is our top pick. While not the most powerful available, it still has plenty enough where it counts so it can do everything a student or graduate needs in the perfect form factor for someone on the go.

The bottom line: Small and portable, the Chromebook Flip is great for a busy student. The excellent app support means you'll be able to use it to get things done and be able to play games or watch a video during the downtime.

Update, July 2017: Our pick for best Chromebook for students remains the budget-friendly and portable Chromebook Flip, and we added the durable Lenovo Flex 11 as our pick for youngsters.